Ready or Not
by PartyMashedPotatoes
Summary: What will happen when everything soon changes in Lyoko? After Jeremy launches a new program, everything in Lyoko becomes different. Everything feels real, and XANA isn't giving the team a break. They can't get hit by too many monsters... Or it's game over... Forever... Plus, with all the bruises they get from Lyoko, the teachers could get involved... Will they find a way out?
1. The Program

**A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever to be published, so I hope you like it! I do take constructive ****criticism, but I know the difference between someone helping, or just being rude, so please be nice! I'm trying to keep the characters in character, and I hope I'm doing a good job! **

* * *

**Chapter 1. The Program**

**Aelita's P.O.V:**

_Beep, beep, beep!_  
Goodness, I need a quieter alarm clock!  
Yawning, I get up out of bed, and hum to myself as I get my brush and begin fixing my hair.  
Today is going to be a good day, because Jeremy has found a program that can inhance our powers, and most likely strengthen the skid! Now, I know what you're thinking, "Bad idea, because his programs never work!"  
Not true, we've taken all the precautions, it's taken over and month, and you can't forget about all the times some of his programs have worked. So, everything will work out just fine.

* * *

"Good morning, Aelita," Jeremy says, as I sit down at the table. "Everything is coming together just great!"

"That's wonderful," I start, opening my carton of milk. "You know, today we only have a half a day of school... By the time we're done with home work, it'll be about 1:45 and we can head to the factory."

"Morning guys," Ulrich says, sounding half asleep.

"Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept in a year," Jeremy says.

"Geez, thanks... And yeah, I'm just exhausted, because I have the two most annoying roomates at this school," Ulrich answers, as he sits down.

"Two?" I ask, before taking a bite of my toast.

"Yeah; Odd and Kiwi... Odd decided to stay up and play video games, and the dumb dog wouldn't shut up!"

"Kiwi isn't dumb, he was just doing his job!" Odd says, putting his overly-full breakfast tray on the table.

"Well, someone needs to fire him, because I need sleep," Ulrich snaps.

"You do need your sleep, Captain Grouchy," Odd replies, before taking a sip of his milk.

"We all need to be at the factory around two this after noon," Jeremy states, ignoring their little argument, "so we can launch the new program."

"Great," Ulrich says. "I'll text Yumi."

**Odd's P.O.V:**

"We better get going," Ulrich says, after checking his phone to see what time it is. "It's almost 2:00."

"Alright," I say, getting up and opening the door.

We almost make it to the park, but we get stopped by Nicholas and Herb.

"Where are you guys going?" Nicholas asks, standing right in front of us.

"Uhh... We were actually coming to find you," I lie. "We wanted to tell you that Sissi and Aelita are waiting for you in Sissi's room... They said something about asking you guys out...?"  
I try not to laugh as their faces light up, and they run toward the school at high speed.

* * *

And soon enough we make it to the factory.

"Ready guys?" Yumi asks, her and Aelita waiting near the elevator.

"Okay, the program should be ready in 30 seconds," Jeremy says, once we're all on Lyoko. "Five, four, three, two... One! Okay guys, test it out!"

"Jeremy, where is my sword?" Ulrich asks.

"And my fan?" Yumi adds.

"Just wait a minute... Maybe it needs a little more time... Odd, Aelita, are your powers working?"

"No," we answer at the same time.

"I don't understand..." Jeremy says.

"Look out guys... Trouble," Ulrich says, pointing at a couple of blocks and some hornets.  
I look, but a little too late, and one of the blocks hit me, throwing me backward.

"Wow, that really hurt," I say, getting back up.

"Stop complaining," Ulrich says, dodging lazers from the blocks.

"No, this time it felt-" I start, before Yumi gets it, falling to the ground.

"Ow!" Yumi says. "Jeremy everything feels almost... Real..."

"I don't know whats going on, but your life point statuses are gone. Hang on guys, I'm bringing you back in. Materialize Aelita, materialize Yumi, materialize Odd, materialize Ulrich."

* * *

Exhausted and confused, we all make our way out of the elevator, to where Jeremy is at the super computer. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, but..." Yumi shows Jeremy her right arm. It has a big bruise on it, probably about the size of a 50 cent piece.

"And..." I say, moving the top of my shirt so he could see a similar bruise on my left shoulder.

"Hmm..." Jeremy thinks, as he types some more. "I don't know what's wrong... Oh no! The skid is... gone...I don't think this was the program's doing... I think it was XANA..."

"Well, it's not safe to go back to Lyoko," Aelita says, examining Yumi's arm.

"Not at all... I'll remove the program, but I don't think it'll change anything... I'll try to... Oh no, no, no, no, _no_!"  
"What is it?" Ulrich asks.

"Activated tower..." Jeremy mumbles. "What are we going to do...?"


	2. Tower Trouble

** A/N: I decided to update again! I will try to update twice a week or so, but no promises! I'm very busy right now :O) ^_^ In my note book, I'm actually in the middle of chapter five... So, if it's in high demand, I can try to update sooner for you... Chapter 4 is the looooooongest chapter yet though! I'll get to work on typing all the chapters up anyways! Hope you guys enjoy it! If you have any questions, just ask in a review :O)**

**Chapter 2: Tower Trouble**

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"What would happen if we didn't deactivate the tower?" Odd asks.

"XANA would destroy the network, gain control here on earth, and Aelita would_ DIE_!" Jeremy answers, trying not to get worked up.

"Then we have to go to Lyoko," I start. "We can't let any of that happen... We'll be fine."

"But that's still putting your lives at risk!" Jeremy exclaims. "If anything happened to you guys, I would never forgive myself."

"But we need to think about what's more important... Our lives, or having the whole wolrd under XANA's power, and losing Aelita," I explain, looking Jeremy in the eye and holding his gaze.

Ten minutes of arguing the fact that everything feels real now, and too many hits could be game over for good, we finally get to, "Transfer Ulrich, transfer Odd, transfer Aelita..." And so on.

"Okay everyone, keep a look out for monsters! And remember, everything feels real, so-"

"Don't get hit," I finish for him. "We know already... We'll be careful."

"Okay... Go Northwest, but be as careful as you can," Jeremy says.

Rolling my eyes at his paranoia, I go i the direction he said.

"Oh no... Mega Tanks... 2:00," Odd says, as the monsters get ready to fight.

"Don't worry guys, I've got them. Get Aelita to the tower," Yumi says, going toward them.

"Yumi, no!" I say, going after her.

"I've got this," Yumi says, turning around and smiling at me. I know that smile... She has a plan...

Worrying about her like cra- ... I mean... Hoping that her plan will work, I go catch up with Odd and Aelita, who have found some trouble of their own... Three blocks stand in front of us, guarding the tower.

"What are we going to do without powers?" Odd asks, looking to see if there was another way to the tower.

"We need to- Oof." I hit the ground, as the breath was knocked out of me for a second.  
After giving myself 10 seconds to recover, and not recovering at all, I look behind me to see that there are two crabs. One had hit me, and the other had hit Odd, who is already getting back up.  
Aelita is hiding between a couple of rocks, probably getting a plan.  
I can no longer see Yumi, but I pray that she is okay...

"Guard Aelita the best that you can," I say to Odd. "We need to get her to the tower."

After giving me a quick nod, Odd runs over to Aelita, and I come not far behind.  
Struggling through several hits and painful lazers being shot at us, Odd and I get Aelita to the tower safely, and go inside with her.

"First, I need to undo the program," Aelita says, getting to work.

"Whew," Odd says, sitting down on the floor of the tower. "That was rough."

"I'm just glad it's over," I reply.

"Okay guys, we can't do a return to the past, XANA would get way too strong. Deactivate the tower and then go outside, and I can bring you back in," Jeremy says, sounding relieved that we're safe.

Soon enough, Aelita is finished, and now I can get outside and find Yumi... I mean we...

But when we get outside, I see something that makes my blood run cold...

"Oh my gosh! Yumi!" I yell.


	3. Mega Whoa

**A/N: Hey everyone! Couldn't wait to update for you guys, the reviews made me so happy, I didn't stop smiling for ten minutes! This chapter is VERY short, and not very suspenseful... But thats because chapter 4 is going to be long, and you'll enjoy it! This chapter only took 3 pieces of notebook paper, chapter four took 16 pieces, so there you go! I will update again VERY soon! I am in the process of writing chapter 7 now... Wow... And I'm still typing up chapter 4! Hope you enjoy it! Like I said I will update again VERY soon since this is so short!**

** Yumi is a little out of character on the first part of this chapter, so please forgive me for that! I was having too much fun writing it! :D**

**Chapter 3: Mega Whoa**

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"Yhee-Ha!" Yumi yells,_ riding_ on_ top_of the Mega Tank.

"Be careful, Yumi!" I yell, panicking. "You need to get down! If you fell, it would really hurt!"

"Just watch," she laughs.  
Then, _KA-BOOM_, the Mega Tank exploads, and I run over there as fast as I can.

"Yumi!" I yell, looking the the smoke, trying to find her. "Yumi are you okay?"  
The smoke clears and I see her sitting on the ground, laughing.

"What just happened?" I ask, relieved that she's okay.

"The tank could sense me, but couldn't find me, so it pretty much went insane. Finally, it couldn't take it anymore, so... _Bam_!"

"Great work guys, but it's about time you come home," Jeremy says, before materializing us.

Yumi's P.O.V:

Okay, I have to admit, riding a Mega Tank was awesome, but those stupid blocks got my arm again... Not much though, maybe just two or three times.

As soon as I'm back, I get out of the scanner quickly, so I can make sure everyone is okay.

Who will be first I wonder... Aelita!  
"You okay?" we ask at the same time.

"Yes, I'm fine, but Ulrich and Odd got shot at a lot..." Aelita says, sounding as if it was her fault. "Are you?"

"Yeah, few more bruises, but nothing serious," I answer, just before the other two scanners open, and Odd and Ulrich stumble out, falling to their knees.

"Are you guys okay?" I ask, kneeling beside them.

"Uh... Yeah..." Mr. 'Tough Stuff' Ulrich says, finding the strength to stand up, followed by Odd.

"Sure," I say, rolling my eyes.  
And finally, the four of us make our way to the elevator.

"Is everyone okay?" Jeremy asks, meeting us as soon as the elevator opens.

"I don't know," I answer.

* * *

"Okay... Everyone, how do you feel?" Jeremy asks, once we all sit down on the factory floor, weak from up powerless trip to Lyoko.

"Terrible," Odd answers, leaning back against the wall.

"Okay I guess..." Ulrich answers, earning a sarcastic 'Uh huh' glare from me, until he gives in and mumbles, "Awful..."

"I'm fine," Aelita answers, looking sympathetically at Ulrich and Odd.

"Me too, but my arm hurts... Only a little," I start. "But we can't go back to school looking like this... We need to look okay..."

"I have an idea..." Aelita says, standing up and grinning. "A great idea..."

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter made you disappointed! The next chapter is longer, and better, and keeps you more entertained... So stay tuned! Ahaha, and it gets more action as it goes on! I surprised myself with some of the later chapters! I will update very soon though! Hopefully tomorrow! (I wanna update today, but my followers might get annoyed with all those emails)**

** So if you're looking for action, get ready, because this story is about to take off! **


	4. Make up

** A/N: Hey everyone! Got this up for you guys! I'm finishing up chapter 7 in my note book, so thats good! I'll probably update Tuesday, but I'm not sure! I like updating and I wanna keep my readers happy! And I would love to hear your opinions about this story! This is the longest chapter so far (2,135 words)! I try to keep them in character, but I'm sure you know how that is :) Sorry about the typing mistakes in the last chapter! I AM SO SORRY! I don't think this one has any! I hope it doesn't!**

** I hope you like this! ^_^**

**Chapter 4: ****Make Up**

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

"What's your idea?" I ask.

"Just wait here, I'll be back in about 20 minutes," Aelita answers, before leaving the factory.

Time flies and soon enough, Aelita is back with a small cardboard box in her arms.

"Take your jacket off," she tells Ulrich.

He does, revealing bruises and terrible scratches all up and down his arms.

"Now don't move," Aelita says, taking something from the box.

It's a make up my mom uses, called foundation... It's kinda like skin color, so I really don't get why she uses it...

Aelita begins putting some on his arms, and after a while, it looks normal... As if nothing had ever happened.

"Amazing, Aelita," I start. "Where did you get it?"

"From our little friend Sissi," Aelita answers, adding some to Odd's shoulder. "She was kind enough to give us some... Don't ask how..."

By the time Aelita is done, we look okay, except for Ulrich terribly limping, and Odd trying not to cry every time he moved his left arm.

"Thanks," I say to Aelita, as we come up in the park. "You really have talent!"

"Thanks," she replies. "Just don't let it wash off unless you are somewhere that you can put it back on."

"We'll try," I say, just as we get to where we can see the school.

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"You know, I really don't like Lyoko as much anymore," Odd says, flopping down on his bed, once we get back to our dorm.

"Well, it's not fun, that's for sure," I reply, sitting down on my bed to be greeted by Kiwi. "But we need to hurry up and finish XANA... Or at least find out what's going on over there... Maybe Jeremy will find something to fix it..."

"I don't think Jeremy is exactly a 'fix it' guy... Because this didn't happen until he launched his program..."

"It wasn't his fault," I say, before glancing at the clock.

4:27 PM... But it feels like 4:00 AM.

"Well, I can't stay up any longer," I say.

Yawning, I glance across the room to see that Odd is already asleep.

_Beep, beep, beep!_

My alarm clock goes off, waking me up to all the memories of yesterday.

I must've slept through dinner...

Sitting up, I instantly feel sore.

Wondering how on earth I'm going to act like nothing happened, I get up to wake Odd.

"Get up," I say, as I start getting ready for school.

"Ten more minutes!" he whines.

"You'll miss breakfast," I say, smirking as he sits up.

"Oh gosh," Odd says, as he gets up, probably feeling as bad as I do.

"I know," I start, as I put my shoes on. "But the teachers and other students don't, so we need to act as if nothing ever happened. Especially with Jim, he's always been on our case."

"I know," he says, rubbing his shoulder. "I'll try..."

15 minutes later, we meet Jeremy and Aelita down stairs and we all get breakfast.

"What's up, kid?" Jim asks cheerfully, slapping his hand on my back, hard.

Wanting to scream, I nearly drop my breakfast tray, as pain radiated through my back. I held my breath, hoping I wouldn't cry.

"You're going to love gym class today-" Jim started, before I stopped listening.

Finally, I took a deep breath and slowly walked forward.

"Bye... J-Jim..." I somehow manage to say. "Gotta r-run... But I'll catch... Catch you later..."

Out of everything that hit me yesterday, the crabs were the worst! And then Jim had to go and try to kill me!

"Are you okay?" Odd asks, as I sit down next to Jeremy.

"I don't know," I answer, hoping Jim didn't notice me freaking out inside.

"What are we going to do about gym class?" Odd asks, before biting some bacon.

"Just go as usual," Jeremy answers.

"Did you not hear him? Jim said we're doing the rock wall _and _the pool today! The wall will just be torture and the pool will wash the make up off!" Odd exclaims. "Remember what Mr. Dellmas said... If we miss one more class, we get expelled!"

"Calm down... You guys will have to suffer through the rock wall, but when it comes time for the pool, try to stay to the back, and don't let Jim see you," Jeremy says. "He usually has to pick a few people at a time, so if he doesn't see you, he won't pick you."

"Alright," Odd says, leaning back in his chair.

"What if we get picked?" I ask, wondering how I am going to do the rock wall.

"Then you will need a great explanation for the scratches, bruises, and small gashes," Jeremy answers, earning a sneaky smile from Odd.

"Hey guys," Yumi says, taking a seat next to Aelita.

"You look terrible!" I say, referring to how tired she looks... WAIT! I just told Yumi that she looks terrible!

Oh my gosh, Ulrich, you are _so_ stupid!

"Good going, Romeo," Odd starts, "but most girls would prefer a 'good morning.' "

"No... Yumi, what I meant was-" I try to say, before Yumi flings some of Aelita's breakfast on me, and laughs.

"It's okay, Ulrich! You do too," Yumi says with a smile. "But I've gotta go, my mom wanted me to eat a home, but I forgot to study last night, so I had to get my history book. By the way... Toni from Math class said that we have gym class with you guys today... And that we'll be swimming! If anyone sees my arm, the worst that could happen is my parents would freak and I'd have to say that I fell off my skateboard... But you guys wouldn't get off so easy...You can't 'accidentally' cover all of those bruises and scratches and stuff up... You guys would have a lot of questions to answer..."

"We know... We'll figure something out," I say, wanting to say, "Yumi, you don't look terrible, you've always looked beautiful!'

"Okay I guess I'll see you guys then," she says, before walking away.

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

"Yumi! Dad's on T.V, come see! Come see!" Hiroki exclaims, pulling on my hurt arm.

I want to pull his arm off and hit him with it, but he doesn't know that he's hurting me...

"Oh man, you made me miss it, since you wouldn't hurry up!" Hiroki complains, twisting my arm.

I bite my lip, praying that he will stop.

All through breakfast Hiroki goes on and on about this new game he wants, and I _still _get get stuck with the dishes!

"I'll finish the dishes, you need to go back to school," Mom says, taking a bowl from my hands. "Yumi, what's this on your arm? Oh my! Actually, you aren't going back to school, I think we need to talk..."

Darn! The water must've washed the make up off!

I look at my arm... It looks worse than it is... It looks like two baseball sized bruises are right next to each other, but it's really just four small ones...

I'll probably not be going to gym class after all.

**Odd's P.O.V:**

"This isn't going to be fun," Ulrich sighs, as we lean against the wall to wait for gym class to start.

"Della Robbia, wanna do a friendly one on one battle while we wait?" William asks, punching my left shoulder as hard as he can.

Normally, I would be punching back, saying, "Bring it on!" but considering my shoulder has already been killing me all day, all I wanna do right now is scream.

I close my eyes for a minute, trying not to cry.

I don't wanna show any signs of pain, but that's kinda all I feel right now!

I put my hand on my shoulder and leave it there, sinking to my knees.

Yesterday I got hit there five freaking times!

Don't be a wimp, Odd, don't be a wimp.

I take a deep breath and open my eyes. Suddenly, I get a great idea!

I kick my leg out in front of me and slide it side ways, tripping William.

Finally, I stand back up, saying, "Game over, I win."

And just then, Jim comes in to explain everything to us about what we will be doing.

I just wonder how I willl make it to the top of that wall.

"When you make it to the top, that is when you will come back down," Jim explains. "Della Robbia, why don't you go first?"

"Uh, okay..." I say, getting in front of the wall.

I look up, wondering how I am supposed to make it up there.

With my shoulder still hurting from William, I use my right hand to get hold of a rock as I high as I can reach. Then, I use all of my strength to pull myself up.

I take a deep breath and gently place my left hand on a rock, and hold on to it.

Reaching as high as I possibly can, I grab onto another rock with my right hand, and pull myself up again.

After doing this over and over again, I am almost to the top.

As my arms are getting tired, it's getting harder to pull myself up, but no worries, I only have to go up once more.

Reaching for a rock at the top, I suddenly loose my ballance, and start falling.

After a couple of seconds, I land, hard, right on my left arm... And this time, I actually cry.

I wipe the tears from my eyes, before anyone sees them, and then I stand up.

"Jim... I better go make sure my arm is okay," I say, shakily.

"Very well then, go on," Jim says. "Stern, you're up next!"

Heading back to the dorm, I realize that I have no feeling in my left arm.

Should I go to the nurse?

And let her find all the scratches, bruises, and small gashes? No way...

I'll just go back to class and act okay again I guess... Because I have no excuses this time...

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

Wanting to go make sure Odd is okay, I step in front of the rock wall.

And what I hate about rock climbing always comes to mind right about the time I am in front of a wall, about to climb up... Heights... And uhm... I dunno... Maybe... Falling!

To my surprise, I make it to the top rather quickly... It is pretty good despite the fact I'm hyperventilating right now...

Finally, I'm on my way down!

Just as I am coming down, I miss one of the rocks, and my fear comes true.

I fall about six feet, landing on my right foot.

In too much pain to even cry, I get up, balancing on my left leg.

"Jim, I need to get this checked out," I say, limping to my dorm.

Wow, nothing has ever hurt this much before!

At least I can finally see our dorm.

Just as I get to the door, it opens.

"Are you okay?" I ask, as Odd moves out of the doorway so I can come in.

"I should be asking you!" he replies, noticing how terribly I'm limping.

"I'm fine, but I think I broke my ankle..." I say, sitting on my bed to make sure it's okay.

"Well... I think I broke my arm... At least we have a reason not to swim today... But we still need the attendance... Do you need to see the nurse?"

"No way," I answer. "I'll just bandage it up here and see how it goes."

"If you're sure you're okay... We better go," Odd says, using his good arm to help me up so that I can get my swim shorts on so we can go.

Soon enough, we're at the pool.

"I'm just relieved that we got out of swimming," Odd says, as we walk beside the pool, look for Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi.

"Ulrich, can you help me out?" Sissi asks, from in the pool.

"What's wrong with the ladder?" I ask.

"Nicholas refuses to get off of it," she answers, holding up her hand.

I reach down to pull her up, but she pulls harder, flipping me into the pool.

I start treading, which is hard because my ankle is still kinda broken!

"Sissi!" I exclaim. "What was that for?"

"It wasn't on purpose... Oh goodness, Ulrich! What happened?" Sissi asks, just as I notice the make up is coming off.

"Why did you lie? Sissi didn't wanna ask me out!"

I look up in time to see Herb pushing Odd into the pool, washing his make up off as well.

Sissi begins getting louder and louder, and people start gathering around the pool.


	5. Nurse's Office

** A/N: Here you go ^_^ I didn't like waiting so long, but it wasn't finished being typed up until yesterday! This chapter is an average length, I dont think it's too long... I hope its not! I _did _have a typo in the last chapter! Ugh, I am sooo sorry for that! Please forgive me! Typing mistakes annoy me _very _much! In my note book I am at the end of chapter 8! You wouldn't believe what I've done... Hope I'm not too hard on the characters...**

** Anyways, this where the story starts to pick up. So, enjoy it, and tell me what you think of it! I loooove reviews, but you already knew that! I will try to update Thursday... I have a lot to type up, and I have a busy weekend, so we'll see how that goes... Have fun! ^_^**

**Chapter 5. ****Nurse's Office**

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"What's going on h-" Jim stops, mid-sentence, noticing how banged up we are.

Odd and I exchange 'uh oh' glances, and try to swim to where Jeremy is waiting outside the pool near the ladder.

"Are you guys okay?" Jeremy asks, noticing the latest addition to our cuts and bruises... My ankle is now dark purple and blue all over. And the more I move it, the worse it feels. Odd's arm is now dark purple from his elbow to his wrist, yet strangely enough, he hasn't complained at all.

"Yeah, but what do we do now?" I ask, as I watch Jim make his way over to us.

"Whatever you can," he answers.

I take a look at us... Our arms covered in bruises and small gashes, our backs with those huge crab-gashes, and our legs covered in bruises and scratches... Not to mention the dark purple parts where we've broken bones... And we covered them up... Let's try to explain that.

"Jim, I can explain," Odd says, bravely stepping forward.

"I'm sure you can, and I'd love to hear it! After you two see the nurse! Come along now," Jim commands.

We follow him, both of us wondering what we're going to say.

"Oh... Oh my!" Dorothy exclaims, in shock once she sees us. "What on earth happened?"

"A lot..." Odd answers, giving her a weak smile.

"Well, let me see what I can do," Dorothy says, sounding worried.

"What feels the worst?" she asks, just as we take a seat on the hospital like beds.

"Everything," Odd and I answer at the same time.

"Oh... Okay..."

Dorothy begins looking through some of her stuff. "Well... I guess I'll take a look at what _looks _the worst... Who wants to go first?"

"Odd does," I say, out of my fear of doctors.

"I never said that," Odd says.

Dorothy laughs, walking of to him and examining his arm.

"Hmm... Can you feel this?"

"Nope."

"I think it's probably broken, but we'll do some X-rays to be sure. Okay, Ulrich... Your ankle looks pretty bad too..." Dorothy says, coming over to me. "Do you feel this?"

"No."

"Okay... What about this?"

"Oww! Yes, now stop before my foot comes off!" I exclaim.

"Yeah... I think thats broken too... I'll be getting the stuff ready for the X-rays... I'm going to let you guys get your regular clothes, but you have to come back as soon as you're done. Odd, try to find something with short sleeves, and Ulrich, try to find some shorts. And stay off that foot as much as you can... Hurry back or I will send Jim to find you!"

"Do you have your explanation yet?" I ask, once we leave the nurse's office.

"Nope, I can't think of anything... We were supposed to be at school all day yesterday," Odd answers. "It's not like we can tell them about Lyoko. And we covered it up, tried to hide it! We need a reason for that too. And what if XANA launches an attack? We're not in any kind of shape to battle out the monsters _and _protect Aeilta! Then XANA could... Win..."

"But he won't, and we don't have to worry about him attacking right now. The next attack will most likely be after we've healed at least a little."

"Let's hope so," Odd sighs, opening the door to our dorm.

* * *

And ten minutes later we're on our way back to the nurse's office.

"Ulrich, Odd," Yumi says, when she sees us in the hallway, "Jeremy told me everything. Are you guys okay?"

"Everything?" I ask. "Even about the... Uh... Rock wall?"

"Yeah... He said Jim wouldn't let anyone else climb after that."

Oh man! Yumi knows I fell! What if she doesn't think I'm strong enough to climb the wall?!

"Oh... Well... Dorothy wanted us to hurry back, so... We better go..." I say, hoping she doesn't think I'm a wimp.

"Oh there you are!" Dorothy says. "I thought you weren't coming back. It's time for the X-rays though. Odd, come sit over here, and Ulrich, you have a seat over there. I think we can do both X-rays at the same time."

After moving a few things , Dorothy leaves the room during the X-ray, and comes back shortly after.

"Okay," she says, as the X-ray pictures pop up on her computer screen. "Well... Ulrich, your ankle _is _broken... And one of the foot bones, just below your ankle, is fractured... It'll probably take 6-8 weeks to heal... And Odd, your arm is broken, in two places, and you fractured your wrist. So it'll probably take 6-8 weeks to heal as well... You kids need to be more careful."

"Is there an upside to this?" I ask.

"Yes, your injuries could've been much worse. And the large gashes in your backs will not need stitches. I just wanna know what on earth happened..."

Odd and I both sigh and exchange 'oh boy' looks.

Laughing, Dorothy stands up. "You don't have to explain anything tonight. My shift is over, but I will be back in the morning. I want both of you to stay the night, so that we can be sure that you're healing properly. You will need to stay at least 72 hours. The night nurse will be in shortly. Her name is Glenda... Oh! I've gotta run! Bye. And Odd, try not to move your arm much, and Ulrich, try to stay off that leg! I'll try to get back early... Broken bones always feel worse the next day... And Glenda isn't big on... Well... Caring... Have a good night, though!"

And with that she leaves, and the room falls quiet.

"This is quite some mess we've gotten ourselves into, huh, Ulrich?" Odd says, propping his arm up on his pillow.

"Yeah... But-" I start, before the door opens and Jeremy comes in.

"Are you guys alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, we're doing just great!" Odd says, sarcastically.

"Anyways, I over heard Jim and Mr. Delmas talking... Jim told him about your injuries and he's calling your parents tonight!"

"So? My parents aren't going to care," I respond, wishing they would.

"No, but mine are! Maybe he won't tell them how bad it is... And maybe they won't come all the way down here, like they did when all I did was fall off my skateboard and twist my wrist! They were worried about just that, but they will freak when they hear about this!"

"Maybe they won't. Let's just wait and see what happens," I say, just before the door swings open.

A fat lady, probably in her mid 50s storms in. She is ugly, and looks very mean.

"Who are you?" she asks Jeremy, with her Brittish accent.

"Jeremy Belpois."

"Are you hurt... Sick?"

"No ma'am."

"Well, there should be no visitors! Out with you then! Out! Out!" she says, taking Jeremy's arm and practically swinging him out the door, and slamming it shut. "I am Glenda, the night nurse. And neither of you will be bother me! Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Odd and I say at the same time.

"And what's this I see? Pillows are made for heads, not arms!" Glenda says, jerking the pillow from under Odd's arm, and slamming her fat fist down onto the middle of his arm.

Odd bites his lip and closes his eyes, trying not to cry.

Then, Glenda turns toward me.

"What do you think you're looking at?" she asks, edging closer before she is beside my bed. Then, she takes her fat fist, and slams it down onto my ankle.

And suddenly I feel helpless, defenceless, and... Afraid.

This _can't _be a real nurse.


	6. Back for us

** A/N: Here it is... Chapter 6... In my note book, Im in the middle of chapter 9, YAY!**

**This is the shortest chapter yet D: Sorry... But it'll be good anyways! So yeah, I will try to update on Tuesday, but no promises... I can try to update earlier if you want :D We'll see :D**

** I LOVE ALL my reviews, thank yall so much! You are all amazing! I really feel happy when I read them, so thank you _SO_ much! Hope you like this chapter... Let me know what you think ;) :O) Yall are awesome!**

** OH and I would like to thank my editor... Also known as my sister... Who is already reading chapter 9! She is one of the first to see it :D And she is soo supportive and helpful, and a beyond amazing writer too! She is working on her own novels actually, and she has finished some, too!**

** And many thanks to my little sister for reading my story as well! And thanks to my brother's girlfriend who said she wanted to read it! Love yall with all my heart!**

** Here you ****go:**

** Chapter 6. ****Back for us**

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"I've got lots of plans for you two! I must go for now, but I am coming back!" Glenda says, giving an evil laugh, and leaving the room.

As tears slowly make their way out of my eyes, I quickly wipe them away, trying to ignore the pain.

"That lady is a witch," Odd says, making sure his arm is okay. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know... Are you?"

"I don't know either... I'll call Yumi," Odd says, using his good arm to pick of the phone and dial her number. "Jeremy or Aelita would get in trouble if I called at this hour."

He puts the phone on speaker as it starts to ring.

"Hello?" Yumi says, quietly.

"Hey, Yumi. We've got a problem... The night nurse is sort of... A little evil..."

"Evil in what way?" Yumi asks, sounding more alert.

"Let's just say... She's bad to the bone... She said something about having 'special plans' for us... And she slammed her ugly fist down on our broken bones, and then she said she is coming back for us... Then she just... Left..."

"Huh... I can't do anything right now, because Hiroki had a bad dream and my parents forced him to come in here for the night... If I get up, he will tell Mom and Dad, because I got up earlier and he went nuts! I'll be over there first thing tomorrow, and I'll tell the principal everything."

"Come make sure she didn't eat us first... I seriously think she's a psycho path!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

"Yumi, what are you doing?" we hear a voice, probably Hiroki, in the back ground.

"Gotta go, I just woke up Hiroki. Bye," Yumi whispers.

"Bye," Odd says, before hanging up the phone. "Ulrich, do you think it's safe to go to sleep, knowing that Glenda is coming back?"

"Well, we can't stay up all night can we? We'll be fine."

"If you say so..."

* * *

"Goodness... Dorothy was right... Broken bones _do _hurt worse the next day," Odd complains. "Oh... Uh... Ulrich! Wake up!"

"What?" I yawn, noticing there is something around both my wrists.

Opening my eyes, I see that they're tied together.

"What the..." I say, before looking up to a scene that makes my heart drop to my stomach.

We are surrounded. Four men in black are holding guns, two pointing theirs at Odd, the other two pointing theirs at me... And Glenda is in the middle, holding her own gun. Oh gosh...

I try to free my hands, noticing that my hurt foot is tied to the bottom of the bed.

Failing to free myself, I look over at Odd.

His feet are tied together, as well as his wrists, and he's struggling to free his hands, but not succeeding.

"Uh... Glenda..." Odd says, earning an 'are you crazy' look from me. "I have to use the bathroom..."

"Can't you wait?"

"I can... If you want a huge mess to clean up..."

"Okay," Glenda says, walking over to untie him.

As soon as his hands are free, he yells, "Ulrich! Now!" Drawing the men in black's attention to me.

Then, Odd turns sideways and lays flat on his back. Finally, he kicks out, hitting Glenda, and knocking her to the floor.

He gets off his bed, and quickly frees his feet. About to come untie me, he gets stopped by one of the men in black, who takes him by his hurt arm, and pulls him up until they're eye level.

"XANA always wins," he says, before punching Odd, knocking him out.

Before I can do anything, Glenda is standing over me. Then, she knocks the day lights out of me.

* * *

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

_Boom, Boom!_

I hear a gun go off, coming from the direction that the infirmary is in.

My heart sinks as I dart down the hallway, hearing three more shots as they're fired.

I stop in front of the nurse's office, putting my ear to the door so that I can hear.

"Okay... The kids are unconscious... We should just finish the job," a man says, before two more shots are fired. "Aelita should be at the factory now... It's almost time to finish her too..."

I try not to scream at the thought of my friends being the victims in there.

Thinking that on the phone last night, may have been the last time I'll ever talk to Odd... And in this very hallway yesterday may have been the last time I'll ever talk to Ulrich...

No! This isn't happening! I won't let it!

I brace myself, opening the door.

...

This doesn't make sense! This doesn't add up!

I stand in front of the nurse's office... In total shock of whats in front of me.


	7. Oh Gosh

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, I was really excited about updating, but I had an amazingly fun weekend!**

** So here is your chapter :O) Thanks for those kind reviews! If only you knew the joy I feel in my heart when I read such amazing things being said about my story! You guys rock! ^_^ This chapter is a good enough size, I hope! I try to make my readers happy! I know that it's kinda hard to get the main idea of the story, but if you read between the lines... XANA is kinda taking over the world... Piece by piece... **

** Sometimes I feel mean for putting the characters through all of this...  
**

** Hope you guys like this chapter! Tell me what you think ;) :)**

**Chapter 7. ****Oh Gosh**

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

Relief and fear wash over me as I stand in the door way.

I stare in front of me... Nothing.

There are many signs of struggle, but no people, and... No blood.

No one was shot in here, unless it could be cleaned up in 6 seconds...

There are bullet holes in the wall, near the beds, but like I said... There is no way possible that someone was shot in here... This makes no sense.

Oh look! An open window!

I look down in time to see a lot of kids with Jim. I see Jeremy and Aelita, as well as the rest of the 8th grade class... Except Odd and Ulrich.

I turn around. What could've happened?!

_Knock!_

"Mmm mm mmm mm!"

_Knock!_

I walk over to the closet.

"Mmm mm mmmm!"

_Knock, knock, knock!_

I twist the knob. Locked... From the inside.

"Unlock it from your side," I say to whoever is in there.

After a short pause, they say, "Mm m mmmmm m mmmmm! Mmm!"

"Okay, stay back," I reply.

Knowing this could be a trap, I back up and run forward, using my martial arts skills to break the door open.

Ulrich and Odd look up at me. Ulrich with a big open cut under his eye, and Odd with a black eye. Their mouths taped, feet tied, and hands bound behind their backs.

"Ouuuch!" Odd exclaims, once I rip the tape off of his mouth, before doing the same to Ulrich.

"What happened?" I ask, untying Ulrich's feet.

"I don't really know... Odd woke me up this morning, and we were tied up... And there were guns pointed at us... Odd had a good idea, but there were too many men in black. Next thing we know, we're tied up in the closet."

"Men in black?"

"Yeah... The last thing I remembered was one of the men in black saying, 'XANA always wins!' And we don't know where they went after that..." Odd says.

"What's going on?" Dorothy asks, walking into the room and shutting the door behind her.

"We were just talking about this new video game I got," Odd answers.

"Oh," Dorothy says. "Well what happened to your eye? And under his?"

Odd feels around his eye, just now noticing that something had happened to it.

"Well, I'd better go... I'll text you the walk through for the game," I say, winking at Ulrich and Odd.

"Alright," Odd replies, smiling. "Tell Jeremy about the game... He's been wanting something to play on his new 'super cool' computer."

And with that I leave, remembering that the men had said something about Aelita being at the factory... But I'm a little too ahead of the game to look for her down there.

Wait... There she is! Looking... Terrified...

* * *

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"But to answer my question... And what happened to your arm? It looks worse! And _your_ ankle!"

"Well... I don't know how to say this... But... Glenda is... Well... Abusive," Odd says, pointing at the bullet holes in the wall. "And... She kinda got away..."

Dorothy's face instantly goes from confusion to shock.

"Oh my! I'm calling the police! Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"It's Jeremy," Odd whispers, after his phone starts beeping.

He picks it up, reading the text message. Suddenly, he looks sad and a little frustrated. "XANA attack... What are we going to do?"

"Is this the right room?" a man yells, from behind the door, before opening it.

He comes in. He is pretty tall, probably in his mid 30s, and he looks a lot like Odd in the face.

"Dad? Wha-" Odd starts, before his father interrupts him.

"What happened?" Mr. Della Robbia asks, rushing over to his son.

"Well... Actua-" Odd starts, before Mrs. Della Robbia interrupts him.

"Oh, my baby!" she exclaims, rushing over to him as well. "What happened?"

"A lot... It-" Odd starts, again, before Dorothy comes in, interrupting him just like everyone else.

"I described Glenda to the police! She's on the D.S.T's most wanted! And who are you?"

"We are Odd's parents! When did all of this happen? And how? And who is Glenda?" Odd's mother asks, frantically.

"Relax, everything is going to be fine. I don't-" Dorothy tries to say, before Mrs. Della Robbia cuts in.

"Don't tell me to relax! When I put my son in this school, that made the principal responsible for him! And now he's hurt!"

"Mom, I think you're overreacting. I'm fine."

"No you're not! Look at you! Covered in bruises and scratches! Just look at your arm and your eye! All of this happened _at _school!"

"Mrs. Della Robbia, the school is not responsible for however this happened, we didn't even know at first," Dorothy says.

"You failed to notice these injuries? Look at this other kid!" she says, pointing at me. "Two kids! Both looking like they've been through a boxing match!"

"Honey, you need to calm down," Mr. Della Robbia says.

"No! Look at our son! That's _it_! Odd sweetie, we're pulling you out of this school."

"Don't make any sudden decisions," Mr. Della Robbia responds.

"Yeah, it wasn't even the school's fault," Odd says, standing up to protest.

"Well, I was already thinking of pulling you out, even before this happened... They just finished building a new school closer to home anyway... All of this just finalized it... Pack up your stuff... We can leave tomorrow."

She can't be serious! I mean, I'm dreaming, right? Everything happens out of no where, and to make things worse, my best friend has to leave the school? This just isn't right...

"But that's so soon!" Odd complains. "This is my home, my friends are here, my life is here!"

"You will love your new school! You can't get hurt like this over there! I'm going to talk to the principal."

Mrs. Della Robbia then leaves the room, followed by Mr. Della Robbia.

"That was sudden..." Odd says, sitting back down. "What can we do?"

"There's nothing we can do... They're your parents, you have to listen to them." I sigh, just as Odd starts smiling that 'I know what I'm going to do' smile.

"You can try to convince them..." I say, getting no response from Odd.

"You are listening... Right? ... Right?"

"Oh what? Uh... Yeah, Ulrich... Sure... I've gotta go pack! Don't forget about what Jeremy texted about the game!"

He stands up, excitedly leaving the room.

"Dorothy, is someone calling you? It sounds like it's coming from out that window..."

She looks out, giving me only seconds to run - well, limp - quickly out of the room.

* * *

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

"Aelita! What's wrong?" I ask.

"The men in black are here! They have some hostages in the lunch room!"

"Don't worry, we-" my phone starts beeping. I pick it up, seeing it's a text from Jeremy. "Uh... Aelita... XANA just activated a tower..."

"Oh XANA..." Aelita says. "I love your timing... Let's go."

"What about the people in the lunch room? We can't just leave them. And remember, we can't return to the past..."

"XANA attack! We need to get to the factory," Ulrich says, coming up from behind me.

"We know, but the men in black never left school! They have hostages in the lunch room! We'll fight XANA and deactivate the tower, you need to defend the school. Where's Odd? He can help you," I say.

"It's actually a long, terrible story that I can't explain right now, but you're not going to Lyoko without me. Why don't you stay, and I'll get Aelita to the tower? Everything feels real, you could get hurt!"

"No. Ulrich, you're _already _hurt. I'll be fine," I say, not wanting to argue, but ready to if I need to.

"At least let me help. You could get hurt, too! I'll survive."

"Stop trying to be so tough!" I say, not meaning to sounds so harsh.

"Yumi, what I mean is... I'll survive... But I can't without you," Ulrich says, looking me in the eye, but pretty much taking hold of my heart.

_Boom! Boom! _A gun goes off, and we hear screams.


	8. Lyoko and Lunch Room

** A/N: SO SORRY! I wanted to update Friday, but I was busy! And then yesterday, I was busy again! Here it is though, all perfect 'n' ready! ^_^ Hope you like it! M.I.B stands for Men In Black... ;) And I think the D.S.T Is the French FBI... I think... I looked up what I could, and that's all I found... Its the Department of Territorial Safety/Security... :O) Hope I'm right! ^_^ **

** THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! I would love some constructive criticism! :O) All of my readers are amazing! I love you guys all so much! Thanks for being wonderful and supportive! Y'all Rock! And if you have any questions about my story, or even not about my story, but about anything, PLEASE feel free to ask! I will answer in an authors note! I'm serious though, my readers mean SO much to me! And if anyone wants me to check out their story, I will. **

** Forever,**

**Angel.**

**Chapter 8. ****Lyoko and Lunch Room **

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

We carefully and quietly go see what's going on. The men in black have a lot of hostages, and they also have guns.

"Oh no..." I hear Odd say from behind us. "They have my parents!"

"Your parents?" I ask in a whisper.

"Long story, but don't we need to be on Lyoko right now?"

"You and Ulrich get the police for this, me and Aelita will go to Lyoko."

"No, if they get the police, the police could find out about Lyoko... The men in black show many signs of Lyoko, things that aren't... Human... Which means if any of the were arrested, people would start wondering why they're so different... And wondering means looking... Looking means finding... Finding the factory..." Aelita says.

"We'll do what we can here, but you guys _need _to be careful!" Ulrich says, finally agreeing that Aelita and I should be the ones to go to Lyoko.

"Yeah... Be careful... XANA doesn't go easy. And watch out on the way, in case there are more men in black," Odd says.

"We'll be fine," I assure them, before me and Aelita head out.

I really hope that _they _will be careful... The men in black have guns... It's _way _too easy for someone to get hurt.

"The tower should be South Southwest! But you _really _need to be careful! You know how bad you can get hurt!" Jeremy says, once we're on Lyoko.

"We know, Jeremy. We promise to be careful," I say, cautiously going in the direction he said.

We walk for a while, surprised that we haven't seen any monsters yet. Until...

"Look out guys! Two Mega Tanks and 6 hornets!" Jeremy exclaims. "Your powers don't work, remember? You'll have to do the best you can!"

"Don't worry, we've got this," I reply, giving Aelita a smile.

I can't really say that I'm afraid of what can happen while we're on Lyoko. I mean, XANA hasn't won before, and he won't win now.

"I see the tower!" Aelita says, pointing at it.

"Good going, Aelita! Just be careful of these monsters, stay behind me. I will be your sheild.

Gosh... This must be how Ulrich and Odd felt! The monsters really _don't _go easy! Thank goodness we're almost to the tower.

Aelita runs into the tower, but for some weird reason, a Mega Tank blocks me from going inside.

"Yumi! Look out!" Jeremy exclaims, as the Mega Tank is about to shoot.

I do a back hand spring, just midding the Tank's wall.

"That was a close one," Jeremy says, releived.

But I'm not safe yet. All of the monsters are cornering me.

If I try to dodge through them, they could... You know... But if I go backward... It'll be a dive into the digital sea... And you know...

"Jeremy, bring me back!" I say, sounding like a coward. "There isn't a way out of this!"

"I don't believe this! I've lost control of the super computer! Hang in there, Yumi! I'm doing all I can! Aelita can't leave the tower... XANA sent something to wait for her..." Jeremy says, worriedly. "How can this happen? I had control a minute ago!"

With no other choice, I look behind me, seeing a random rock, kind of like an island, away from this edge. It's a big jump, but my only choice.

I go for it, jumping and landing safely on the rock.

"Okay, Jeremy, get control as fast as you can!"

"I've almost got it!"

One of the Mega Tanks come closer to the edge of the platform across from me, shooting.

I try to move, but the wall hits me, knocking me off of the rock I was on. I hold on with both hands, trying to pull myself up... But failing... Holding on to my life.

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

I really hope Yumi and Aelita will be careful... I wish I had gone with them, but I think it's more dangerous here.

"Okay, I know what we can do," Odd says. "I'll go in and distract the men in black, you try to knock them out."

"There are too many of them, I can't just knock them out. And are you crazy? They have guns. How do you expect to distract them?"

"I'll help you knock them out, no I'm not crazy, and leave all the distracting to me. My plan will work."

"Okay." I sigh. "Let's do this thing."

"If you love me, let me know that it's true. Take my hand, I'll fly away with you. I don't know where we're going, but I hope that it's far. Because you've already stolen... The key to my heart," Odd sings, standing on a table, pointing at one of the men in black.

Everyone looks at him, and one of the men in black come toward him.

He simply gets off that table, and jumps onto another one, telling the man how slow he is.

I run from my hiding spot, quickly grabbing a chair, and slamming it down on a M.I.B's head.

More of them start coming toward me, until we hear a gun go off.

"Stop it everyone," one of the men in black says, as I notice he had shot at the ceiling. "Don't fight them, we have guns. They can die, or they can be our hostages."

"Alright," Odd says, getting off the table, and coming to stand beside me. "We surrender."

The two of us go sit with the other hostages.

"Again, are you crazy? Now they are guarding us with guns! Aelita and Yumi _need _us on Lyoko! What's your plan?" I ask in a whisper.

"My plans always work better when you don't know about them... Just follow my lead," Odd whispers, before standing up and walking over to the guard. "And yes, I _am _crazy."

"Mr. Black Suit Guy... I was wondering if you could-" Odd stops, quickly putting his good hand over the barrel of the gun, before trying to pull it out of the man's hands. "Ulrich, get everyone out! If this gun fires, it won't hit you guys! Run, hurry!"

About to protest and get the others out, I notice that the other 8 men in black are out cold, Mrs. Della Robbia is standing over them.

"Odd, no!" she exclaims, close to tears.

"Ulrich, get her out of here, hurry! I'm not leaving until you guys are out! Go!" Odd says, struggling to get the gun.

Finally doing as he said, I get everyone outside, wondering why the guy hadn't shot Odd while he had the chance. XANA has always wanted to kill us.

We hear many gun shots, but no screams. That's it... My best friend is in there... I'm going back inside.

"Odd! Where are you?" I yell, walking into the lunch room.

I see all of the men in black are passed out on the floor.

"Ulrich! I got their guns!" Odd says, coming up from behind me. "But I put them someplace safe."

"Don't ever scare me like that again! You could've been killed!"

"I know, but it was my only plan... We need to call Jeremy and tell him we're coming... We need to deactivate the tower before the men in black wake up."

"Oh my gosh!" I exclaim, kicking the wall after hanging up the phone. "Yumi is about to fall into the digital sea! We _have _to hurry! Let's go! Come on!"

I surprise myself at how fast I'm moving on my hurt ankle, even though it _really _hurts.

"There is no way that I'm letting my baby boy out of my sight," Mrs. Della Robbia says, noticing that we're leaving. "We're going home."

"Home? Now? I'm not even ready to go yet! And I haven't said, 'good bye' to anyone!" Odd replies.

"Your father can come get your stuff tomorrow. And you can say bye on the phone... It's too dangerous here. As soon as I find my keys, we're leaving."

This can't be happening! One of my best friends is about to go home, where I won't see him for a _very very _long time, if I ever see him _again! _And my other best friend is hanging on to her life! _Litterally! _Oh, and this monster named XANA is out to _kill _us! Could things get any worse?

"Mom, this really isn't a bad school," Odd says.

"Maybe you're right... I mean the men pointing guns at us _did _use their manners... And that lady that the D.S.T is after _does _sound like a lovely nurse. And we can't forget about how 'cool' it is to look like you've been through a wood chipper!"

Oh... So that's where Odd gets his sarcasm.

"Sorry, Son, just listen to your mother. We're only doing what's best... Let's go," Mr. Della Robbia says.

"This can't be over, can it? All of this... Just to go home? And this can't be good bye... Right?" Odd asks, while his parents talk to the principal.

"It's not... Just go with them for now, we'll figure everything out later."

"What about Lyoko?"

"I've got that... Just-" I start, before Mrs. Della Robbia says, "Time to go!"

"Call me and tell me how everything works out. I'll be back, just give me time to figure out how... Tell everyone I said bye... I'll really miss you guys..." Odd says, sounding more sad than he ever has before.

"Okay... We'll miss you too, good buddy," I reply, sounding more sad than I thought I would.

"Bye..." he mumbles, following his parents to their car.

Goodness... Now time to save Yumi...

I go as fast as I can to the park.

Of everywhere I could've gotten hurt, it had to be my foot! I _need _to save Yumi! I _have _to hurry!

_Snap!_

All of a sudden I'm in a net, high above the ground... So... So high...

Don't look down, Ulrich, don't look down.

"Who is there? Who did this?" I call out.

"XANA still always wins..." a man says, pointing a gun at me... Wow... Third time today. "You're coming with me..."


	9. Kidnapped

**A/N: Hey! I am sooo very sorry that it took me sooo long to update! It was typing up the chapter that took me the longest!**

** Not counting the author's note, this is 2,421 words! In my notebook, I am on... The middle of... CHAPTER 11! I know! I'm sorry it's taking me so long! I will try to write more... Maybe I can get to at least chapter 12 in my book before updating again, but I don't know! ^_^ I will try to update more than I did though.**

** And Serena! THANKS! That is just the advice I needed! I felt that my story was moving to fast (Especially the hostage lunch room thing!) and what you said has helped me a lot! And also thanks for your kind reviews. I tried to make this one better, so please tell me if it needs some more work, and how I can improve (If needed). Thanks for all the nice things you've said!**

** And to ALL of my reviewers/readers: Your support and lovely words have made my story worth writing! Without my readers, my story would just be a bunch of words, so thanks a billion! If there is anything you want me to change, or if you just wanna give me some constructive criticism, or maybe some questions, DON'T HESITATE! I LOOOOVE hearing from you guys! Reviews make me sooo very happy! Thank yall sooo much! You are all AMAZING! **

** Chapter 9. Kidnapped**

**Jeremy's P.O.V: **

"Just a few more seconds, Yumi," I say.

She is hanging onto her life, while I'm trying to gain control of the super computer.

You see, with this type of design on the data base, I have to recalculate everything. Codes and other forms of passwords are transferred through the network... I need to guess 43 of them to gain control here on the super computer. If I do not guess them correctly, I could destroy the network completely and lose Aelita as well as Yumi... For good. But I'm not going to let_ any _of that happen.

"Uh... Jeremy, there's a hornet getting ready to shoot!" Yumi exclaims, just before he does, hitting her hands.

She begins loosing altitude, falling toward the digital sea.

"Oh no! Yumi!" I yell, as I start gaining control. "Materialize Yumi!"

Suddenly a black signal pops up in the upper left corner of my screen... It means that something has just hit the digital sea!

Quickly, I run to the scanner room, hoping to see Yumi stepping out of a scanner.

It opens, but... No one is there...

"No, Yumi! No! It's all my fault!" I exclaim, as tears make their way out of my eyes.

I run back to the computer, doing eveything in my power to see if Yumi is okay... If she's... Alive...

"Aelita! Aelita! Come out of the tower! I will bring you back in the moment you step out! It's extremely inportant!"

"Alright, Jeremy."

* * *

"There is only one more thing I can do to know if she is alive or not," I say, typing, after telling Aelita the whole story.

"I... I don't believe this..." Aelita says, pacing back and forth.

"I know... It's all my fault... I should- WAIT! She... She's alive! I can't locate her, and I don't know where she is... But she's alive! Yumi's alive! She's not in the digital sea... I can't find her anywhere... This isn't good, but it's still great! All we need to do is find her!"

Great! All I need to do now, is find some of the search program files! I won't have to use any new ones, I'll just unbug the old ones! No worries, Yumi, you'll be back before you know it.

"That's wonderful! We'll find her, don't worry! Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, you can go eat lunch. I'll stay here and see if I can relocate her."

"Alright, but I don't like it when you're always skipping lunch... It isn't healthy," Aelita says, before leaving the factory.

Now where can Yumi be? I can tell she's alive, it's just I don't know where she is... Huh.. This is weird... But I _have _to find her... And fast.

* * *

**Odd's P.O.V:**

That's what I want... To be stuck in a car with three loud girls. My mom and two of my four sisters.

We're on the way to the shopping center now. Dad stayed behind at a hotel near Kadic, so that he can get my stuff and finish some paper work with the principal.

We just left from the hospital to get a cast for my arm.

I don't wanna go home though... I mean, Ulrich, who is already hurt, is trying to save Yumi, who is on Lyoko right now, about to fall into the digital sea, and I'm on my way home to a perfect life...

They need my help, and I _wanna _be out there fighting against XANA, but I have to go home and there is nothing I can do about it... Yet... I've already got a plan going.

"Here we are! We just need something for dinner. How about we let Odd pick this time? Since he's had to put up with that _terrible _food at that _terrible _school," Mom says, putting the car in park.

"No, it's okay, you guys can pick. And Kadic had great food. And it wasn't a bad school!"

"Whatever," Elizabeth says, getting out of the car. "Let's just go."

Elizabeth is the youngest of my four sisters, and at 16 she has won the record for most annoying. And the other sister that it with us today is Pauline. She is 18 and she isn't as bothersome as Elizabeth... But she _is_ still a sister, and even though she is practically a grown up, she loves getting on my nerves.

* * *

"I know! I'll make some home made mashed potatoes!" Mom says, grabbing some potatoes, once we're inside the store. "You'll love that, won't you baby? Won't you? Odd?"

"Oh! Yeah Mom, whatever you'd like..." I reply, pretty much in a daze thinking about how they're managing on Lyoko.

"Remember this from when we were little? Try to get out now," Elizabeth says, twisting my hands behind my back.

"Hey! That hurts! Yes, I remember! Now stop," I say, trying to break free. "Grow up, already!"

"Ugh, don't be such a baby about it!"

Elizabeth then pushes me. I stumble a little, bumping into a tall guy.

"Sorry, sir," I say.

"Not as sorry as you will be."

The man pulls out a gun.

Wow! Big surprise! Never seen one of those! Ugh, I'm getting really tired of this!

"What do you want?" I ask, sounding bored, noticing my sisters and mom becoming more and more afraid.

"You. Now come with us."

"Why would I do that? This is too easy!"

I high kick the gun out of his hands... This is _way _too easy.

"I think _this_ is why."

I look in the direction that the man is pointing in. No. Two other men and a lady are standing behind Elizabeth, Pauline, and Mom... With guns, pointed at them.

I take a deep breath. It's obvious what's more important.

"Alright... I'm coming with you."

Giving an evil laugh, the man forcefully directs me down the aisles.

I snag something small off of a shelf, sticking it in the pocket of my sweat shirt.

Aha... Good going, Odd... When we leave, the alarms will go off... I'll be caught trying to steal, and I'll be with the police. Me and my family will be safe... I hope...

* * *

We go through the detectors... Nothing. No alarms are sounding.

I mean, they go off even when you're _not _stealing... But finally I am, and it doesn't make a sound?

I take the small candy bar from my pocket, tossing it back into the store.

"Okay kid, if you try to run, you won't get far," the man says, moving me directly in front of him and pulling out his gun.

He puts it to my back, making sure it's where no one can see it.

We walk for a couple of minutes, until we get to this big black van with windows so tinted that you can't see inside.

They push me into the back seat, before using an old rope to tie my wrists together.

"You should be happy, we have a very good friend of yours waiting at the C.C," the man says.

I raise an eyebrow. How do they know who my friends are? They're not the men in black... I guess they could be trying to worry me... But why _did _they kidnap me? I'm pretty sure it wasn't because I bumped into the fat one...

"What's the C.C?" I ask.

"It's nothin' you need to know about... Yet... Oh, I almost forgot... You don't need to know where it is either... Jimmy, did you bring the stuff?" the man asks.

The other guy, apparently Jimmy, hands him a napkin with wet stuff on it.

Wait! I've seen this in movies! The bad guys always use it to knock the good guys out!

I hold my breath, just as they put the napkin to my face.

After about 40 seconds, I give up, not able to hold my breath any longer.

Finally, I breath in.

Suddenly, I feel dizzy, and all I can hear is the bad people evilly laughing.

And that's the last thing I remember, before everything goes black.

* * *

**Aelita's P.O.V:**

I am so glad that Yumi's alive! But... I'm still worried about her... I mean, we don't know where she could be... Or if she's okay...

I just can't believe that Jeremy is blaming himself. It wasn't his fault.

And XANA keeps attacking...

Lost in my thoughts, I cross the bridge to see Ulrich running toward me... Looking... Afraid?

He finally gets to me, pretty much tackling me. I fall on the ground, looking up at him.

After a second, I sit up. "What's wrong?"

His face goes from fear, to a smirk, before he slaps me.

I just look at him, confused.

Then, he goes into full battle mode, kicking and punching me... Finally, I have to fight back.

I punch and kick him with everything in me. Nothing. No signs of pain. He just fights back... Harder.

Until he pins me down on the ground, hitting me again.

"Ready to visit the C.C?" he asks, before punching me one last time.

Then, everything starts to fade.

* * *

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"Where? And why?" I ask, as he lets the net down.

I sit on the ground, as he untangles the old net, so that I can get loose.

"Nothing you need to know," the guy says, before high kicking the back of my head.

Suddenly, I can't think clearly and everything goes black.

No! I _have _to save Yumi!

Then I am unconcious.

* * *

Whoa... Talk about a head ache...

Wait! Where am I? What happened?

I'm in an empty room, no windows, and only one door. The floor is cement, and the walls are made of wood... The ceiling is pretty high up, but... You know, it's a ceiling... Can't do much of a description there...

What's going on?

Wait! Yumi! I've gotta save Yumi!

I stand up quickly, only to fall.

Gosh... I forgot about my ankle.

I stand up again, this time carefully.

Then, I try to open the door... But of course... It's locked. I guess it's just time to think of a plan...

Just as I sit down to think of something, the door swings open. A tall man stands there, looking over worked and tired.

"I thought you would like some company," the man says, pushing someone into the room.

Wait! That's not just someone! That's Odd!

He stumbles into the room, weakly sitting next to me, as the man leavs the room, slamming the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Odd and I ask each other at the same time.

"I don't know... I was going to save Yumi, then, I was in a net... And now I'm here... What is this place?" I ask.

"Well... All I know is it's called the Cougar Cave... Mostly known as the C.C."

"How did you get here?"

"I was shopping with my family, and this fat man pulls a gun on me. I knocked it out of his hands, but his 'friends' already had their guns pointed at my mom and sisters... They wanted me to go with them, so I did... They said I couldn't know where this place was, so, they made me breath in some stuff that made me black out... And I haven't fealt so good since then... But what I really wanna know is, why they kidnapped _us_."

"I don't know, but Yumi needs us! So we've gotta get out of here!" I say, standing up to pace back and forth, as worry floods my mind at the thought of Yumi holding on, about to fall into the digital sea.

No.

"Relax. We'll find a way out. I'm sure Yumi is fine now. Everything will be fine."

"Easy for you to say! The love of your life isn't about to fall into the digital sea... Where she can never come back! I should've went to Lyoko instead of her! She shouldn't be there! She should be safe! She should be okay!" I say, getting _way _too worked up _way _too quickly.

This really isn't like me... Did that kick in the head damage something? I may be overreacting... But I can't stand the thought of my Yumi... About to... Mm... Just never mind...

My best friend... My first love... This _can't _be happening!

All of the fears about what could happen to Yumi, come to my mind at once. And the fact that we're trapped here... We have to save her.

"Calm down... I'm sure Yumi's fine."

"Calm down? At a time like this? Of course _you _would say that! Because this is all your fault anyways!"

"My fault?" Odd asks, just as shocked as I am.

But when you think about it... It _is _his fault! I shouldn't have to wonder... I should know Yumi is okay... If it wasn't for this jerk, I would! It's his fault... Yumi could be gone forever, and he's the only one to blame.

"It's true! If _you_ hadn't broken your stupid arm, I wouldn't have been as nervous about climbing the rock wall! So, I wouldn't have fell and broken my ankle. Which means, I would've been able to pull Sissi out of the pool, and the make up would've never washed off! And if _you _hadn't lied to Herb, he wouldn't have pushed _you _into the pool, washing _your_ make up off too! Yumi should be safe right now! I should be sure that Yumi is alive! This is all your fault, you jerk!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Odd defends, standing up. "And if you had of actually went with Yumi, it wouldn't have happened either!"

Acting out of anger and worry, I push him as hard as I can, before punching him.

I can't! I can't lose Yumi! If he hadn't broken his arm, we wouldn't have gone to the Nurse's Office! The men in black wouldn't have been at the school! I would've went to Lyoko with Yumi! And... She would be okay right now!

I punch and kick him as hard as I can, but he refuses to fight back.

I keep going, cornering him.

Just before I go to punch him again, I take a look at him. Busted lip, black eye, broken arm, countless cuts and bruises... Already banged up, and I'm making it worse.

I look him in the eye... He looks... Hurt... I've hurt my best friend...

"They want us to work for them," Aelita says, coming into the room. "Forever."


	10. Courageous

** A/N: Hey! SO sorry that it took so long! I may have to update once a week... I've been busy and I'm still working on chapter 11! (ITS LONG) So, I may not update until chapter 12 is at least almost done, which won't be long I hope. :) This is 2,375 words, not counting the authors note ;) YAY! :) **

** Silver Dawn: I'd LOVE to be pen pals! How old are you? I know I said on a review to your story that I wasn't allowed to PM, but Im thinking I can convince my mom, since my sis is allowed to. So maybe ;) You're sooo sweet! Thanks for reading my story, and thanks even more for writing yours! You're so kind, and a great suspense writer! I love it! Keep on going! And thanks sooo much for the reviews! And for the pointers too! It was soo helpful! (EVERYONE! CHECK OUT SILVERDAWNS STORY!**

** The dedication meant the world to me! My heart filled with joy when I read that! This chapter is for you! I'm just so thankful that a writer like you, is enjoying my story! It really means a lot! :)**

** Serena: You're such a faithful reviewer! I read your story and it rocks! Any more advice on mine, would be great! You're awesome! (EVERYONE! READ SERENA'S STORY!)**

**Any who's ever read or reviewed EVER: Thanks for your support and everything you do! Even someone just reading the title of my story means the world to me! Without you, these are just words. Thank you! If any of you would like to give me constructive criticism, I would be very grateful! Have any questions? Ask away! THANKSSS AGAIN! :O) Yall totally rock! Words can't describe how amazing you guys are! Just know, that I wish I could respond to each of you individually! It would take too long though :( You're all SO amazing! :')**

**Jesuslover13: This whole story is for you, because you're the best editor EVER! As well as the best sister ever! Love you! (YALL HAVE TO CHECK OUT HER STORIES!)**

**Anyone who wants a shout out, or for me to read your story: Just say it! I love reading awesome fanfics! Yall seriously ROCK!**

**Chapter 10: ****Courageous**

**Jeremy's P.O.V:**

"Yumi? Yumi can you hear me? Are you there?" I ask, running another scan through Lyoko to see if I can find her. "Where are you?"

This really doesn't make sense. She _is _alive, but it's almost like she doesn't exist... Where could she be? And... Wherever she is, I need to find her... Before people start wondering why she isn't around.

I'm starting to wonder where _Aelita _ has been gone for an hour and a half...

"Nothing found," the computer says, in its robotic voice.

Goodness! Where could Yumi be? I've scanned each individual sector and replika 19 times... _Each_! I've unbugged four old programs, and I've triple checked everything. And the super scan would tell me if there was something... You know... 'Gone' on Lyoko... What's going on?

I'm too worried about launching a new program... And Aelita's not back...

That's it... I'm going to Lyoko.

* * *

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"Odd, get away from him. He's working with them," Aelita says, as I notice she looks like she's been in a fight.

"What?" Odd and I ask at the same time, Odd probably not doubting a thing she has said.

"Ulrich beat me up, and his new 'pals' took me here. This whole thing is his doing. He's working with XANA. And XANA wants us to work with him too."

"But I didn't-" I start, before Aelita cuts me off.

"I just hope you're happy now... Because Yumi..." she trails off, looking sad.

"What?! What about Yumi?" I ask, letting every bit of worry show in my voice.

"Well... She..."

"Go on! What happened?" I push, starting to feel sick inside.

"She..." Aelita looks down, before closing her eyes. "She... Fell..."

I kick the wall. _No. Not_ Yumi! _Please, _no! _Anything_ but that!

I start to cry, but this time, I don't care. Take a picture and show the world. I _don't care, _because I am nothing without Yumi.

It should've been me! Or I should've at least been there! I could've saved her! This really _is _my fault!

I sink to my knees, in disbelief that my best friend is actually... Gone...

This can't be real! This-this can't be happening!

"We can't find her, and we don't know where she is... But we do know, she _is_ alive..." Aelita says.

I jump to my feet, ignoring the pain in my ankle, as relief floods my heart.

Yumi's life _isn't _over, so mine isn't either.

"Yumi's alive!" I practically scream.

The worst of my fears are over. We _will _find her, I don't care what it takes. I won't _ever _ lose her again.

I give Aelita a hug, just because I can't contain my joy,

I thought I had lost her... But... She's alive! I just hope she's okay...

"But we still can't trust you," Aelita says.

"I didn't do anything," I tell her, wondering why she would think it was me. "When did 'I' beat you up?"

"40 minutes ago."

"Well, I was _here_ 40 minutes ago... You can ask Odd, I've been here for at _least _an hour," I state, hoping this will clear my name.

"He has..." Odd agrees.

"Then who was that? He looked _just _like you..."

"Maybe it was a polly-morphy...?" Odd guesses.

"A polymorphic clone? Could be... But why would XANA need one? Especially when the clone kidnapped me to take me here... And Ulrich was _already _here, so it really doesn't make sense..."

"I'm sure he had a reason... But how are we going to get out of here?" Odd asks, rubbing his eyes, just as I notice Aelita yawning.

We're all tired.

"We'll figure that out tomorrow... Let's just get some sleep," I say, lying down on the cold cement floor.

* * *

"Get up! For the seventh time, _get up!"_

I feel someone lightly kicking me in the ribs as I wake up.

"What?" I yawn, sitting up as I remember everything that happened yesterday.

"The Commander wants to speak to you... You might wanna hurry... He's grouchy..." the man says.

"Who's the Commander?" I ask, looking around the room to find that Aelita and Odd are gone. "And where are my friends?"

"They're with the Commander! And you would _already_ know who he is, if you'd come when I called you the _first _time! I'm Jimmy, I work for the Commander... And if you don't hurry, I'll be in big trouble..."

Jimmy is a sort of tall, rather fat man, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He talks kinda country to be in France, probably because he looks to be American.

"Alright."

I get up and follow him out of the small room, before entering a much larger one.

"Ah... There you are..." some dude says, turning his chair around to face me.

We're in a big, run down room. The floors are cement, and the walls seem to be made of stone. There is a large desk in the center of the room, which is probably the Commander's. And under the Commander's fat butt, is a fat chair. It looks like the one at the factory, only this one is red, with a more... 'Normal' design to it.

There are no windows in this room either, but there are a lot of doorways.

And at the back wall, facing the front of the desk, there are poles that run from the ceiling to the floor. There are about 8 or 9 of them. Aelita and Odd are handcuffed to a couple of them, their wrists awkwardly twisted behind them.

"Now, I am going to talk, and you all are going to listen," the Commander says, as Jimmy handcuffs me to one of the poles. "There are many tasks that I have in store for you. You can't trust anything I do for or to you! It could be trapped or poisoned, or it could be totally safe, but you don't know which it is. Some things are not a trick, so play your cards right. I need you guys strong... And I'll find out who is strong... And worth keeping."

* * *

**Elizabeth's P.O.V:**

We stand there, speachless, as guns are being pointed at us.

"Alright... I'm coming with you," Odd says, before the strange man directs him away from us, followed by the people holding guns to us.

My heart drops as he takes one last look at us, fear in his eyes.

"Stay here and stay together," Mom says, going after them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A tall lady steps in front of mom.

She has short black hair and hazel eyes.

Wearing the darkest red lipstick with all black clothes, it's obvious she has no sense in style. She also has a French accent, that sounds pure evil.

Oh look... A name tag... It reads:

_C.C Staff Member: Chrissi. I.D Number 37335._

"I'm going to save my baby boy!" Mom says, bravely stepping forward and looking up at 'Chrissi,' even though she has a good 9 inches on her. "And you're getting out of my way!"

Mom simply walks around her.

"I don't think that's a good idea," a guy says from behind me, loud enough to get Mom's attention.

I look behind me just in time for the dude to grab my arm, getting a good grip on it, before holding his gun to my head.

"We aren't going to kill your son, but we're watching you. If you tell _anyone _about this, we'll kill your daughters... Not just these two, but all four! Then your husband, then your son, then his dog named Kiwi, then you. Then, your mom, sister, brother, and your sister's husband." He pauses, smirking. "Yes, we know all about you. And we know where you live, where you go, and when you go there. This stays quiet. This is no threat, but a promise."

With that, he leaves, and I notice that all the shoppers have been gone since the first time they pulled their guns out.

I notice something else too... They were wearing gloves and had card board on the bottom of their shoes... It get it... They were _never _here... No finger prints, no shoe prints. They didn't want people knowing they came... They knew this was going to happen... They knew we were here.

Too bad this is a family-run store... They don't have security cameras... Gosh, they really thought this through.

"Mom... What are we going to do?" I ask, shakily.

"I don't know..." she mumbles, fighting back tears.

* * *

Half an hour later, we're home.

I go to my room and take a seat on my bed, replaying the events of today in my mind.

No one has said a word since we were at the store... I think we all have the same question... Why?

Why would they kidnap Odd? I mean, they didn't even ask for ransom... But it's obvious they have a reason.

What could it be?

And... This was planned... They've been watching us... They still are...

The worst part is, there's nothing we can do about it. We may never see him again... And we can't change that.

You can't tell anyone this, but I actually love my brother... Even though I don't act like it, I still care about him...

Believe it or not... Well, this is kinda crazy... But I actually... I actually cried when he went off to boarding school... But you can't tell anyone! You would completely and totally destroy my rep!

I lay on my bed and think of all the fun times we've had together when we were younger.

Spray painting Dad's car, dropping water balloons on Pauline, ultimate pranking, that time we started a 'band,' the time we made an obstacle course with Mom's good china, that time we thought we we're spies and got arrested at the Ready Mart, going to our first concert, playing mao, fighting with each other, arguing, and all of the other amazing memories...

I smile for a moment, only to be sad again.

I miss him...

Why did all of this happen? My grandmother always says, "Everything happens for a reason," but this doesn't make sense. Things like this aren't supposed to happen!

* * *

Now it's 9:15 P.M... And my mind is still going crazy. I keep thinking about the bad guy's threats... There's got to be a way around them!

I just haven't- ... Wait! When we played spy, we had little 'suspects' that we followed around the store... One of them was a tall lady with blonde hair. We saw this video game on sale, and got sidetracked... When we turned around, she was gone.

We _really _wanted to find her, so, we looked for clues... And found them! It took a little while, but we finally found her! It was an adventure, and everything worked out... Until we got arrested trying to find the 'magic sword' in her purse... But Odd was only 6 and I was only 9, so our mom didn't have to pay anything for bail.

The point is, if little kids can track down people, teenagers can too... So, we can find the kidnappers...

We just need a plan.

I get up and go to Pauline's room, hoping that together we'll be able to think of a master plan.

"Hey," I say, coming into her room, breaking the silence that has filled our house since we've been home. "Weird day, huh?"

"Not weird... Strange..." she replies, almost in a daze, as I sit on her bed.

"I think we can get Odd back and kick some kidnapper butt!"

"What?" she asks, as I realize that what I said kinda came out of no where.

"We can get a plan, track down the kidnappers, and get Odd back! We already have a lead! The C.C and Chrissi! Our first clue!"

"Maybe you need to rest, I think you're a little too worked up."

"Me? Mom's in there, hugging his skateboard. We can find him... We have to. Plus, who else is gonna go look for him? No one knows where he is. Who else is as brave as we are? No one is. Who else-"

"Alright, I'm in... But where should we start?" Pauline asks.

"Well, you can google 'The C.C' and see what we find."

"Okay."

"While you do that, I'm going to think of a plan," I say.

15 minutes later it all comes to me... And 15 minutes after that, I have a perfectly organized plan...

And this plan is golden.

Hang on little bro... I'm comin'.

* * *

**Yumi's P.O.V:**

"Uh... Jeremy, there's a hornet getting ready to shoot!" I exclaim, just before it does, hitting my hands.

I start falling, losing altitude quickly.

"Oh no! Yumi!" Jeremy yells, his voice fading as I fall farther and farther.

I can't believe it's over! There's no way out this time...

I close my eyes, just as I'm about to plunge into the digital sea.

Suddenly, a great force pulls me to the right and upward.

I look down and see a Mega Tank, as it falls, making a splash in the sea.

Before I know it, I'm lying on... Sand?

What's going on?

"Jeremy! I'm okay! But... How? And where am I?" I call out.

This isn't a normal sector... It's... Tropical...

Jeremy doesn't answer back, so I wait... For ten minutes... Nothing.

What happened? Where am I? This is weird...

"Jeremy! Can you hear me?"

What am I going to do?

* * *

**A/N: I have a new character coming soon (As far as I know) Anyone wanna be it? You don't know what the personality is going to be (Cause I dont know completely yet) so don't take it personal if its nothing like you. **

**Just say, "I WANNA BE IT!" ****Then put the name you that want the character to be, and your user name (If you're guest you can make up a screen name) on a review, and I will write yalls names down, put them together, mix them up, and draw at random! :O) **

**Dont be sad if you dont get picked, and please dont get mad either, it's completely random. :O) So, if you wanna be in the story (The character will most likely be nothing like you) you can try :) And the character wont be in until late later chapters :) So I wish yall the best :)**


	11. Trackers

** A/N: Hey hey! I was a little worried about this chapter being good... I haven't really felt like writing lately, so I kinda put fillers in my story, which isn't a good thing. So I'm trusting myself that this is okay. **

**I've been really sick for a month or more, and I've wanted to post this for you guys! Im sorry it's taken so long! Im feeling better, so Im hoping to update more.**

** Now... I have something _very very very_ important to announce! The winner of my contest! Before I tell you the winner, I can't help but feel sad. I want _everyone _to win! I REALLY DO! And I'm so happy for the winner, but it still makes me sad that not all of you can. **

** This contest is and was fully at random. I cut up pink pieces of sticky paper, and wrote your user names/guest names on it, and crumpled them up, put them in my skateboarding helmet, and got my sister to pick one out.**

** Im sorry to those amazing ones who didn't get picked. But Im very happy for the amazing person who did.**

** The amazing person who will be an Original Character in my story is... None other than... Serene Grace!**

**Thanks to all those who participated, I hope you still enjoy my story. I wish you all could win, but that doesn't go along with the story line. :( Please find some way to forgive me! I didn't expect such a response!**

** NOW I MUST THANK EVERYONE: Every reader, every reviewer: You've changed my life! I'm so thankful for yall and I can't believe some of the nice things you've said. Even you reading a sentence of my story means the world to me! Thank you sooooo sooo sooo much! You're all amazing!**

** As you know, I LOVE constructive criticism! Please give me tips if you have any! And tell me if I mess up anything! I can't improve unless you tell me what I need to do!**

** I love my story, but I love my readers more! You're all amazinggggg! **

** And THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN ME ADVICE: It's helped more than enough! Thank you!**

** EVERYONE: If anyone has a story of theirs that they want me to read, ID LOVE TO READ IT! Just tell me the title, and I will read it ASAP! I've read a few stories from some of my readers, and I was like :O TALK ABOUT TALENT! You guys are suuuuuuch great writers!**

** Everyone has their own writing voice, have you found yours? Speak it now... **

** I have so much more to say! But it's late and I have to go! You guys rock! **

** Forever**

**Angel! **

** OH YEAH! Here is my story! Sorry that this Author's Note was sooo long! I GOT SIDETRACKED! I JUST FINALLY FEEL GOOD :D WOOH HOO!**

* * *

**Chapter 11: ****Trackers**

**Ulrich's P.O.V:**

"What do you mean 'who's worth keeping?' " I ask.

"Mary, Jimmy, and Toby, take the kids back to their room," The Commander orders, showing no signs of hearing me.

The lady, apparently Mary, takes the handcuffs off of Aelita, as the guy, who must be Toby, does the same for Odd, while Jimmy takes the cuffs off me.

"And one more thing... Tomorrow, we'll install trackers... So we will _always _know where you are," the Commander says, before evilly laughing as they shove us into 'our room.'

"Trackers? These people must _really _want us..." Odd states, once they've locked the door.

"They do..." I sigh, leaning back against the wall. "But we need to know why... We need to know what's a trap, and what's safe... And we need to get out of here, before they put trackers on us."

What would Yumi say at a time like this?

She would probably say that I was being too moody yesterday, and I need to chill out. Then, she would tell me some advice they give in Japan... Like you need to relax and have fun to think clearer...

Wait! That's it! We need to have fun!

"Who's up for a game of truth or dare?" I ask.

"What?" Odd and Aelita ask at the same time.

"Who's up for a game of truth or dare?" I say again, this time slower. "We all need to relax a little, this is the best way."

"Shouldn't we be trying to find a way out of here?" Odd asks.

"You're always telling me to stop being so serious all the time! We'll figure everything else out later, let's just play."

"Alright," Odd says. "Aelita, truth or dare?"

"Uhm... Truth."

"Is it true that you are in looove with Einstein?"

"Why yes, of course." She smiles, blushing.

"You know, you really don't make this fun for me!" Odd says, earning giggles from Aelita. "Your turn!"

"Ulrich, truth or dare?"

"Dare, I'm too afraid of what you'd ask for truth."

Odd whispers in her ear and she laughs. "Okay... I dare you to tell the truth... How do you really feel about Yumi?"

Feeling my cheeks heat up, I look around the room.

"I don't have to tell you..."

"Yes you do, Lover Boy!" Odd teases. "It's part of the game!"

"Uh... I love her," I barely mumble.

"Louder!" Odd demands.

"I love her..." I respond, only a little bit louder.

"Louder..." Odd pushes.

"I LOVE HER!" I yell in frustration.

Oops... Now I'll never hear the end of this one!

"Oh Ulrich, you know you want me!" Odd says, trying to sound like Yumi. "I know you dream about me every night... I know you like my hair!"

"Shut up, Odd," I say, through gritted teeth, still blushing.

"Every time I smile, God shoots off fireworks in your heart!" Odd continues, winking at me.

"And if you don't stop, you won't have one," I say, still gritting my teeth.

"What? A God, a smile, or a heart?" he asks, now using his normal voice.

I send him a killer glare.

"Alright, alright! Chill, Romeo. It's your turn!"

"Odd, truth or dare?" I ask sourly.

"Dare! 'Cause I'm a dare devil!" Odd says.

"Okay, I dare you to..." I say, before whispering the dare in his ear.

"Huh? There's no way I'm doing that!"

"It's part of the game, 'lover boy,' " I mock.

"Fine, Stern! I have moxie!" Odd says, standing up and going to the door.

He bangs on it for a minute, until it opens and Jimmy stands in the door way.

Odd's face turns beet red as he kneels, looking up at Jimmy and sighing.

"Your eyes, your lips, your hair, your nose, your ears, your heart... Your everything... You... It all just lights up my world..." He stops, looking down. "From the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one..."

Then he gives Jimmy the smolder.

I go into a fit of laughter as Jimmy looks enchanted, then angry.

"It's so wrong! I thought you were a girl when I saw you, but now I know you're not! So, stop playing my emotions!"

He pushes Odd, making him fall backward and slide a little, still looking embarrassed.

By now, me and Aelita are laughing like crazy, while Jimmy slams the door.

"Why did you make me do that?" Odd asks, as I try to control my laughter.

"Because, you deserved it," I answer, noticing that his slide on the floor made scratches on his, of course, PURPLE cast.

"Whatever! It's my turn! Truth or dare, Ulrich?"

"Truth."

He thinks for a minute, before looking as if he has failed to think of anything good.

"Is it true... That you would like to play Truth or Dare with XANA?"

Before I can answer, the door swings open, and Toby looks in.

"I think we have someone you'd like to see," he says.

We stand up and leave the room, suprised that they haven't put handcuffs on us.

He leads us to a room that I've never seen before. It's just a little bigger than 'our room,' and has a few small chairs lined up on the right wall. On the left wall, there is a small hospital-like bed, looking as if it's been there for a hundred years. Straight ahead, there are small shelves, made of rotted wood.

And in one of the chairs, there is someone I didn't expect to see... Dorothy.

Her hands are tied, and her eyes show that she is afraid.

The Commander is standing next to her, wearing black dress pants, a white shirt, and a formal red jacket.

His borwn hair slicked back, and neatly combed. He also almost has a unibrow.

"You remember Dorothy, right?" The Commander asks. "We thought we'd be kind kidnappers and let someone you trust take care of your injuries."

"You guys couldn't be kind if your lives depended on it!" Odd says.

"She will address your wounds and then we will begin testing your strength," The Commander continues.

* * *

An hour later, I finally have a thick bandage on my ankle, some small bandages on my larger cuts, and she put proxide on my open cuts.

Odd and I are now waiting for Aelita.

"How do you think they'll 'test our strength'? " Odd asks.

"I don't know... We just need to try our best. We'll make it."

"Yeah, but I don't think we should be their puppets. This most likely involves XANA, and we've never 'bowed down' to him, just because we're scared. We need to stand our ground. They _can't _win. It's physically impossible."

"No. It's too dangerous... Let's just go along with it for now... We'll think of a plan larer... But we do have to be smart about what we do. There will be traps. And if any of us get the chance to get away, then we need to go. So we can get help," I reply, just before Aelita comes out of the 'nurse's office' with a bandage on her knee.

"Okay, kids," Dorothy says, quietly stepping out of the office as well. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this... You all must be terrified."

"Terrified? Not at all! We've faced-" Odd starts, earning an elbow in the ribs from me. "The... Tragic loss... Of losing... A soccer game?"

"I know... You guys are trying to be brave... But you don't have to... We're going to get through this. Together. I promise."

Oh the ignorance... Little does she know, we'll probably end up being the ones saving her.

"Alright... Well, I guess we'd better go back to our room," I say.

"Not so fast."

I look to my left to see The Commander, coming down the hall. "It's training time."

* * *

**Jeremy's P.O.V:**

I set the timer for the self transfer program and go to the scanner room, hoping that I'll be able to find Yumi.

Soon enough, I get to Lyoko.

Yumi was in the mountain sector when she fell, so that's where I am now.

Okay, so I'm not exactly happy with my Lyoko attire...

You see... It's not really what I would call... Cool...

With my floor length... Uhm... Dress... It's kinda hard to fight monsters... And it's hard to run in my... Six inch heels...

At first, I was confused on why this is my costume. I don't wanna be a _princess_, but I figured it out.

A few years ago, I knew a little girl who was like a sister to me. She didn't have much of a family, just a dad, who was almost never home... And she was only four years old.

I would always go to her house to baby sit, and there was only one game she'd wanna play. Make up princess tea party.

I would play it with her all the time, just because I wanted her to be happy.

The priceless smile and sweet, "Thank you!" that she gave me ever time we'd play, made it all worth it.

And soon, all I wanted was for her to be happy... Until she moved to Ireland.

So, I guess that's why I have such a terrible look over here.

But now, I just wish I could find Yumi- Without her noticing my 'new look.'

But she's going to see it anyway, I just need to find her.

I walk to the edge across from the seperated rock where Yumi was last standing, and I look around.

What could've happened? If the-

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of something behind me.

I turn around, only to see a huge crab standing there.

Before I came here, I found a way to fix my powers. Wanna know what they are? Just watch.

I gracefully hold my hand out in front of me, as if I am holding a tea cup, remembering what the little girl always said, "Pinkies up."

I officially look like an idiot, but my powers are still quite useful.

At this action, a tea party plate appears in my hand, but this is no average plate.

Almost in an instant, four 6 inch blades pop out of the... Pink... Plate.

Between the blades, there is just enough room for me to put my hand and throw the plate at the monster.

Just as it's about to hit the crab, he shoots twice, his powerful lazers destroying my weapon completely, as he comes toward me.

He shoots again, this time at me. I try to dodge, but fail.

Pain enters my side as I fall, right off the edge.

It's over now. I'm going to fall into the digital sea..

Deciding to let my last thoughts be about Aelita, I close my eyes and picture her pretty face. And I've seen that face for the last time...

"Oh, Jesus! Save me!" I pray.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, a sudden force pulls me sideways and then upward.

I hit the... Ground? Just as things seem blury. I must've hit hard.

A figure stands over me.

"Yumi?" I ask.

That's when everything fades.

* * *

**Elizabeth's P.O.V:**

The breeze blows my hair back as I jump down, exiting my window into the midnight air.

Mother is inside the house, failing to sleep, like we knew she would.

It's 12:02 AM, and Pauline and I are sneaking out to begin operation RLB (Rescue Little Bro.)

With the research we've done, we know where he might be. The C.C, or Cougar Cave, is about two hours from here, but Pauline has a car, so at least we wont have to walk.

Our plan rocks! And even though we don't know what to expect, we're totally prepared for anything.

We just hope he's okay...

* * *

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" the audiance cheers, as I croud surf.

Oh, they love me!

"Elizabeth!" Pauline yells, sounding frustrated.

Why is she angry? I'm living the dream!

My eyes open suddenly and it takes me a minute to remember where I am.

Oh yeah... I'm in the car... Still not famous...

Oh! And we came here to find Odd!

But what's the place called? The S.S?

"What?" I ask groggily.

"You need to be alert. Two blocks from here, there is a forest. The Cougar Cave is 1.3 miles into it. We have to be calm and _very, very _quiet. They have weapons and we _are _trespassing. Just remember, this is for Odd. Now, let's go. We have a lot of working to do."

Sighing, I open my door, noticing that if I wasn't careful, I would hit a brick wall. It's 2:17 AM and she parks in a dark alley?

After about 10 minutes of walking, we arrive at the creepy forest. Ready for whatever this new adventure will take us to. Praying that we would make it out of here with our brother alive and with us. All three of us. Unharmed.

"We'll go Northwest, that way we'll arrive at the side of the building," Pauline says, pulling the hood on her black sweatshirt over her head.

* * *

A long while later, we can see a building figure in the dim moonlight.

I take a deep breath. My brother is in there.

We get to the side of the building, quietly getting a few supplies from our back packs.

Pauline pulls out a rope with a large hook thingy on it, and I get the harnesses.

We're going to hook the hook on the roof, and hook our harnesses to the rope, so that we can climb up.

Well... We'll attempt to hook the hook... Let's just see how it goes...

Pauline throws the hook as hard as she can, catching the side of the building on the first try.

Yeah... She has some skill in areas I dont... Dad used to spend lots of time teaching her how to mountain climb with him.

"Good going!" I whisper, hooking the harnesses to the rope.

We start climbing up the rope, which is _not _easy. And after a little while, we're almost to the top.

Suddenly, a bright light shines on us, nearly blinding us, as it's the only light in this darkness.

We freeze, not moving a muscle. While the light doesn't move either.

Seconds later, the light moves again, and we let out a breath that we didn't even realize we were holding. That was a close one.

Before we have time to even go up any farther, the light shines back on us, this time with sirens sounding.

We look at each other with looks of horror. We've been caught.

* * *

**Odd's P.O.V:**

"Oh no..."

I peer through a window from an upstairs room, enjoying my lonesome.

It's time for training, and Ulrich is outside.

His training is a beyond dangerous obstacle corse. I don't think they have even that much danger in military training! And if he isn't fast enough, he has to do 97 push ups in 73.7 seconds! And if he doesn't do that? The evil 'Commander' or as I call him, 'The Buttmander,' will get some of his workers to beat Ulrich up. As if he hasn't had enough problems already!

Now, I'm awating my doom. I have no idea where Aelita is, Mary took her somewhere fifteen minutes ago for her 'strength test.'

Someone's supposed to get me next... I'm not looking forward to what they have in store for me though... Even just wondering what it will be freaks me out.

"It's time," a low voice says, opening the door, and standing in the shadows.

That voice is so... So... _Familiar_...

But who is it?

He steps into the light, where I can see him clearly.

Oh gosh... Why? What's _he _doing here?

"Pray that you'll see tomorrow," my dad says coldly.

My father is here... Not to help me...

To hurt me.


End file.
